Gaethje knocks out Dustin Poirier

We have a new ‘BMF’. Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier with a kick to the head in the second round of their all-star rematch at UFC 291 on Saturday from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gaethje proved himself worthy of his nickname “The Highlight” with the dramatic knockout. The second fight between two of the best lightweights in the world began like the first, with both stars trading blows. in a back and forth affair. In the first round, Poirier seemed to be in the lead, after opening a cut over Gaethje’s left eye with a knee. In the next round, Gaethje evened the score with one of the best knockouts of the year.

“He’s never thrown it before,” Gaethje said of the kick to the head. “I just work hard.”

Gaethje wants another shot at the lightweight title, currently held by Islam Makhachev. Makhachev will defend his belt against Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

The first match between the two was one of the best fights of 2018, a back-and-forth match won by Poirier via fourth-round TKO. For Saturday’s fight, the UFC put the BMF belt on the line, which stands for “baddest motherf—er” and was originally submitted for a 2019 fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.

Poirier (29-8, 1 NC) had lost just twice in his previous 12 fights, both losses in UFC lightweight championship bouts against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. His most recent fight was a third-round submission of Michael Chandler in November.